Electropneumatic tool.



J. TEN EYCK HILLHOUSE ELEOTROPNEUMATIO TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25, 190B.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY 2 sums-suns? 1.

Patented Dec. 20, 1910.

J. TEN EYOK HILL-HOUSE.

BLEGTBOPNEUMATIG TOOL. APPLLOATIOI FILED JULY 25, 1908.

Patented Dec. 20, 1910.

INVENTOR z sums-sum '2.

1"! NORRIS PETERS cm, ymsumamu, n. c

JOHN TEN EYCK HILLHOUSE, QF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTROPNEUMATIC TOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 20, 19101 Application filed July 25, 1908. Serial No. 445,347.

To all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I, JOHN TEN Ere]; lilinniioi'si citizen of the United States, and a resident or? the city of New York, in the county oi? New York and State of New York, United States of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l llectropneumatic Tools, of which the following is a specification.

illy invention relates to improvements in electropneumatie tools, especially to that type of tools or other mechanisms in which a. rtariprocatory or vibratory motion is used. Its object is to improve upon structures of this kind and to provide a tool which is simple in construction and efiicient in operation.

To these ends my invention resides in the e nstruct-ion and arrangement of parts which I will describe in the following specification and the novel features of which I will set forth in a ppcnded claims.

ie'lerring to the drawings, Figure 1 a sectional plan. view of a riveting tool or hammer en'ibodying my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional end views of this device,- the sections being taken, respectively, on the lines 2-2 and 3*3 of Fig. 1. Fig. t is a sectional side elevation of one of the magnets which is used in carrying out the invention. Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation, on a somewhat larger scale, of a portion of the tool shown in. the previous figures. Fig. (3 a sectional. end view of the tool, the section being taken on the line (36 of Fig. 53, and showing somewhat in detail a sliding contact arrangement which is used in carrying out niy invention. Fig. 7 is a similar sectional view taken through the line T- I of F 5 and illustrating the construction of a pole changer or reversing switch. Fig. 8 is a diagram of the electrical parts and their connecting circuits.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the figures.

1O designates a casing which incloses nearly all. or the working parts of the apparatus; 11 and 12 are the heads of this casing.

20 is a cylinder centrally disposed within the casing. 21 is a reciprocatory piston within this cylinder .20. One end of this piston is provided with a striking head 22.

Its other end is bored out to form a chamber 23 which is closed by a hollow cylinder 24 which forms the other end of the piston.

The inner portion of casing is bored out as at 13 so that it forms a hollow cylinder. Between this surface and the outside of cylinder a plurality of electromagnets are arranged in the manner which will now be pointed out.

30, 30, &c., designate a plurality of fixed or stationary electromagnets. Each of these comprises a body portion 31, having a fixed flange 32 and a removable flange 33, and is made into the shape of a spool or reel. 34L is a wire coil upon this spool. The outer peripheries of the flanges 32 and 33 are arranged to fit closely against the inner surface 13 of the casing 10.

35 designates a plurality of finished annular spacing collars fitting closely against the surface 13 and against the peripheries of the flanges of adjacent movable magnets which are designated by 36, 36, See. The movable magnets fit closely between the outer surface of cylinder 20 and the inner surface of the spacing collars 35. Annular spacing collars 37, which fit over the outside of cylinder 20, are provided between the movable magnets, and other collars 38 and 39 of the same diameter are placed over the cylinder 20 at the ends of the outer movable magnets.

25 and 26 are flanges screwed onto the ends of cylinder 20 and arranged to lock the cylinder 20, the movable magnets 36, and the spacing collars 37 together. The cylinder 20 and the parts which are thus connected with it are so arranged that they may move together freely back and forth longitudinally as a unit.

27 and 28 are butler springs arranged, respectively, between the flange 25 and the casing head 11, and the flange 26 and the casing head 12. These buffer springs are arranged to cushion and arrest the longitudinal movement of the cylinder 20.

After the parts above described are assembled, the heads 11 and 12 are afiixed to the casing 10, and these engaging with the first and last of the fixed magnets, hold them. with their spacing collars rigidly to gether with the casing 10.

1st designates an air duct which may be provided in the casing 10 as shown. or which may be in the form of a pipe connected with the casing. -it the left-hand end of the travel of the movable magnets 36, openings 17 15. &c., are provided from the spaces between the movable magnets and the stationary magnets into the air duct 14-.

lb designates an air passage in the head 11 connecting the duct ll with one end of cylinder 20. 16 is an air inlet valve connected with this air passage 16. 17 designates a similar air duct which may be arranged at the opposite side of the casing 10 and connected by means of ports 18, 18, &c., with the spaces between the right-hand side of the movable magnets and the stationary magnets. 18) is an air passage in head 12 connecting the duct 17 with the opposite end ot the cylinder 20.

19 is an air inlet valve in the passage 19.

.t the end ot' the casing head 11 and projecting through it is a riveting tool 40. Its inner end is constructed to form an anvil it against which the striking head 22 arranged to strike. A spring 42 arranged to press the riveting tool inward. At the opposite end of the device and supported by the casing head 12 are a pair of contact brushes l r-t which b ar. respectively. upon sliding contact strips and 4b which are insulated from l at mounted upon the cylinder 20 so that they move with it.

12* is a housing screwed onto the head 12 and arranged to support the pole changing device or reversing switch which I will now describe. This comprises six stationary brushes 50. 51. 5-2. 53. Sland which are insulated from each other. A pair of movable contact strips so and 57 are mounted upon the block 58 of insulating material which is aliixed to a sliding frame 59. (i0 designates a rod which is connected with this sliding frame 59 and which is carried though the end 24 of piston 21 into the chamber 2 where it terminates in an enlargcnient bl.

In Fig. 8 l have shown a way in which the magnets. the brushes and contacts above described may be electrically connected. In this figure j and designate mains from a suitable source of elc-ctri *al supply. The positive or main is connected with the brushes 52 and H. The negative or main is connected with the brushes and 4- All the magnets of one set. for example. the fixed or stationary magnets 30. are connected with the lr-rushes of the reversing switch in the tollowing manner: The leads from the let't-hand side of every other one ot' these magitcts I30. and all the leads from the right-hard ide of the intervening stationary magnets are connected together and to the contact brushes 51 and 54. The opposite leads of these magnets 30 are similarly connected together and to contact 6 brushes 50 and 55. The movable magnets 36 are connected with the rightdland lead of one and the left-hand laid of the next connected together and to one of the sliding contact plates 45. 14.6. and with their other leads connected together and to the other ot these contact plates.

The various parts of the mechanism shown in the drawings have been pointed out and I will now proceed to describe their operation. Current passes tron) brush 4% and plate 46 to opposite sides of alternate movable magnets 36 and back through plate 4-5 and brush 43 so that it Hows through every other one of them in an opposite direction. but its direction through any one of them is always the same. Consequently their polarity remains the same. lut the polarity 0t adjacent stationary magnets 30. which is also in opposite directions. is arranged to be changed or alternated. This alternation of polarity is accomplished by the pole changer or reversing switch. It has been shown that the windings ot' adjacent stationary magnets are connected together in opposite directions and to the contact ln'ushes 51. 5t and 50. 57 \Yhcu the movable magnets are at one end o't their travel. for example. to the left as they are shown in Fig. 8. the contact strips 56 and 57 may be moved over to the right as shown in tull lilies in this figure in a manner which will be presently described. ll'hen in this position the contact strip 56 will bridg and connect contacts 52 and 54-. and the contact strip 57 will bridge 100 and connect contacts 53 and 55. The con nections with the magnets are so made that with the parts in this position the polarity of the right-hand faces of magnets 30 will be the same as that ot the left-hand faces of movable magnets 36. and consequently will repel the movable magnets and drive them away. At the same time the polarity of the left-hand faces ot statitmary magnets 30 will be opposite to that of the right-hand faces of movable magnets 36 so that the movable magnets will be attracted on that: side. This repulsion and attraction will cause the movable magnets to move together to the right until they reach some such position as that which is shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The movable contact strips 56 and 57 are then moved to the left in the position indi rated by the dotted lines in Fig. 8. when they will bridge brushes 52. 50 and 53. 51. respectively. This will reverse the current through the stationarv n'iagnets I30 so that they will repel and attract the movable magnets 30 in the opposite direction and drive them back again. The brushes t3 and 4% are so ar anged that they always remain upon their respective sliding contact strips 45 and 46 so that the polarity of the movable magnets always remains in the same direction. is evident that the polarity of the stationary magnets may be it ado constant and that of the movable magnets reversed if desired.

In moving from the leftto the right the movable magnets will compress the air or other fluid which is between them and the stationary magnets to their right. The fluid pressure thus obtained will pass through ports 18 into duct 1'7, and through passage 15) into the end of cylinder 20. This pressure acting upon the end of piston 21 will drive it to the left out oi? the position shown in the drawings until its striking head 22 strikes against anvil. tl. hile the movable magnets are thus creating a pressure at their right-hand sides they are making a corresponding raretaction at their left-hand sides This raretaction or partial vaccuin will cause the fluid in cylinder 20 to the left of piston to be drawn out away from this end oi? the piston, which, of course. will assist in the actuation of the piston. \Vhen the piston has thus been moved away to the left the inner end of its portion 24h will strike against the enlargement 61 on the rod no and will move it and its connected slid ing frame 59 over to the left until the movable. contact strips 56, 57 are moved out of contact with brushes 54;. and into contact with brushes 5t), The central. brushes 53 always remain in contact with these movable contact. strips. Now the polarity of the stationary magnet-s will be reversed and the movable magnets driven to the left. The piston 91 will then be driven to the right by the compression and rarefaction created by this movement of the magnets. When the piston moves to the right the bottom of chamber 23 will engage with the enlargement (31 and push it and its connected parts over to the right, thus again reversing the polarity of the stationary magnets. Thus the movement of the movable magnets 36 in. either direction will drive the piston 21 in the opposite direction, and the movement of the piston will be used to actuate the pole changer or reversing switch. If it is desired to have the piston move in the same direction as that of the magnets it will only be necessary to interchange the leads of ducts l t and 17.

The mechanism as shown is designed to operate with air and in order to insure a full supply of air within the casing A), the air inlet valves 10 and 19" may be provided. 'llhese are ordinary checlcvalves arranged to allow intake oi. air but to prevent it from flowing out.

I have not shown in detail the riveting tool or hammer &O as this forms no part of the invention, and especially as I do not mean to limit my invention to a riveting tool. It is in fact. adaptable for use in con nection with nearly any mchanism wherein a reciprocatory vibratory movement is desired. Rock drills and pumps are examples of such mechanisms. The advantages of using compressed. air for such devices is well known. In many localities, however, a sup )ly of compressed air is not available, and it is one of the objects of this invention. to overcome this diliiculty.

The mechanism which I have invented is self-contained and may be used in any place where an electrical power supply may be obtained.

It is well known that the pull on electromagnets is much stronger when the air-gap between them is ort. It also we l niown that to obtain a satisfactory pressure for actuating such piston that herein de scribed a comparatively long stroke is required. Ly connecting tcget ier a plurality of movable members, each acting through a comparatively short distance of travel, and adding together the volume of compressed air created by them, this ditliculty removed. A greater or lesser number of movable magnets and their associated stationary magnets than those shown in the dra vings may be used, according to the re piirements of the specific mechanism to which this invention is applied.

The constrtu-tiou or the parts illustrated is a preferred design as the apparatus is self-contained and is built up about a central axis with nearly all of its parts concentrically arranged. but. ct course, other arrangements and designs of the mechanism may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The :tlnid in the spaces between the magnets acts as a cushion and assists in the reversal of movement ot the movable magnets. In order to prevent the magnets sticking together or treezing at the ends of their strokes, washers 30 of non-magnetic material. may be provided. I am aware that polarized magnetic members have been arranged to alternately attract and repel each other, but I believe that the arrangement which is herein disclosed is the first in which more than three of such members have been arranged to have this mutual action.

hat l claim is 1. A. plurality of magnets, an inclosing casing closely fitted about said magnets, circuits arranged to effect the energization of the magnets to cause adjacent magnets to be moved toward and from each other to thereby cause a di'lterencc of iluid pressure within the casing, and a piston within the casing arranged to be actuated by said fluid pressure.

2. An inclosing casing, a plurality of fixed electromagnets therein, a magnetic member arranged to be moved back and forth within the casing between the electromagncts by said fixed magnets, to thereby create a ditt'erence of tluid pressure. a piston within the casing arranged to be actuated by said fluid pressure, and means actuated by the piston for controlling said electromagnets.

3. An inclosing casing. a plurality of fixed clectromagnets therein. a magnetic member arranged to be driven back and forth within the casing between the fixed electromagnets by said magnets to thereby crate a ditl'erence of fluid pressure, a piston within the casing arranged to be actuated by said fluid pressure. and means actuated by the piston for controlling said electromagnets.

l. An inclosing casing. a set of fixed electromagnets therein, a set of movable magnets arranged to be driven back and forth within the casing between the fixed electromagnets to thereby create a ditlerence of lluid pressure, a piston within the casing arranged to be actuated by said fluid pressure, and a pole changer for one of the sets of said magnets.

An inclosing casing, a plurality of fixed electroinagnets therein, a plurality of 1nov able magnets arranged to be driven back and forth within the casing between the fixed electromagnets to thereby create a difference of fluid pressure, a piston Within the casing arranged to be actuated by said fluid pres sure, means for energizing the electromagnets, a pole changer for the fixed electromagnets, and a mechanical connection between the piston and the pole changer.

6. An inclosing casing, a plurality of stationary electromagnets attixed to said casing, a cylinder within said stationary electromagnets, a plurality of movable magnets about said cylinder and arranged to be driven back and forth in unison between the fixed electromagnets to thereby create a difterence of fluid pressure, a piston within the cylinder arranged to be actuated by said tluid pressure, means "for energizing the electromagnets, a pole changer for reversing the polarity of the stationary electromagncts, and a mechanical connection between the piston and the pole changer.

T. An inclosing cylindrical casing, a plurality of stationary clectromagnets af fixed to said casing, a movable cylinder centrally disposed within said stationary magnets, a plurality of movable magnets af fixed to said cylinder and arranged to be driven back and forth between the stationary electromagnets to thereby create a dil terence ot' fluid pressure at the opposite ends of the cylinder, a piston within the cylinder arranged to be actuated by said fluid pressure, means for energizing the electromagnets. a pole changer for reversing the polarity of the fixed electromagnets, a sliding contact device for the movable electromag nets, and a mechanical connection between the piston and the pole changer.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN TEN EYCK HILLHOUSE.

Vitncsses Enxns'r V. MARSHALL ELLA Tc'on. 

